Tag: Positive Thinking

Finding the Upside When Life Takes a Downside

What do you think of when you hear the word upside? Simply speaking, it is something positive that follows a downside. It is the promise or potential of a given situation. It's finding some clarity in the midst of chaos. Once the dust settles in your life, there is a little light or glimmer of hope that appears. But you have to be willing to reach out and grab the opportunity, nurture it and turn it into something meaningful. For example, I had a downside experience - a severe stress fracture in my leg, which laid me up for many…

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Patience – A Practice for Success

As a survivor of a Traumatic Brain Injury, I experienced a rebirth in my life. As someone who had to re-learn how to successfully work and share with people in every aspect of life, there is one practice that applies everywhere. That practice is patience. Patience is fed with the ability to listen, stay centered and be thoughtful. Trust in those things and there will be patience. Patience proves that the old phrase endures: Good things come to those who wait. What are you waiting for? To get better from an illness? For a loved one to recover from a…

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You Always End Up Where You Are Supposed To Be!

Nearly everyone ends up in a situation that was not what they expected or wanted it to be.  For example, you may find your soul mate and discover that they lack the maturity necessary for your relationship to grow and blossom. Another example may be finding the perfect job and discovering within the first month or two that the environment is toxic, and your supervisor or manager is determined to destroy you or have you fired. Things like this happen all the time. Instead of beating yourself up, feeling like a caged animal and letting your fear take over, stop…

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Why Being Grateful is Just as Important as Breathing

Being grateful is just as important as breathing. Every human alive right now is breathing, but the act of breathing alone does not make for a happy, fulfilled person. It’s unfortunate how many people allow for their fear-ridden thoughts to control their lives and reality, when really ALL of us have the power to take back our mind and direct our energy in a positive way that serves our life and those around us. Gratitude is a major step in unwinding our negative mental habits. If a person lives their entire life not realizing how precious, miraculous and unique this life…

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Blessed With a Hard Life

In Zaatari camp, a young Syrian boy with a love for soccer invited me into his home to show off his extensive collection of soccer medals. He so valued them that he packed them into a small pack slung on his shoulder during his journey fleeing the violence of his Syrian home, by foot, seeking refuge and safety in the desert. As I was leaving, he motioned for me to bend down, slipping one of his gold medals around my neck. I didn’t understand the Arabic words he whispered, but the power, love, and impact I felt in that exchange…

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Is Your Attitude Holding You Back?

Most of what I have learned in my few years here on this beautiful planet is to always keeps a positive attitude. Remember that when you are dealing with others. Sometimes you might feel you are a recipient of a bad attitude, but what you have to remember is that while you may be really jovial, they may be facing some kind of problems in their life that is reflecting in their attitude. Remember that this has nothing to do with you. You are not the only one with problems and you should take into consideration other people and their…

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The Best Way to Predict a Future of Happiness

The choices we make every single day are crafting our future; one we either want to live in or avoid. This may sound like we humans have a tremendous responsibility to choose wisely. We do. Yet, there is a tool for building a desirable tomorrow that can be implemented right here, right now, today.  It is to Heed Your Call. As individuals, entrepreneurs, business owners, spouses, parents, friends, and lovers, it is our birthright to fulfill our unique journeys, yet we can only achieve this if we are willing to leave our known worlds. We need to peel ourselves away…

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6 Straightforward Tips for a Better Life

There will be many people you meet in this life that do not like you; don’t be one of them. Place your concern on the opinion of the person you see most – YOU. You owe it to yourself and the Universe to make peace with whatever is causing you pain. Be kind, forgiving, and patient. Know that you deserve -- and are worthy -- of your own love and respect. When you believe this with every ounce of your being, everything else will fall into place. There is a lot of negativity in this world; don’t let it bring…

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Finding Serenity

If you've read any of my books, you've read about the "Serenity Prayer." This is a simple prayer, first used by Reinhold Niebuhr around 1934 and later given, by him, to Bill Wilson for use in Alcoholics Anonymous. This simple prayer became one of the "tools" that saved my life more than once when I was in the early days of my recovery and trying to piece my life back to together. I would recite it every day as a way to keep things in perspective and it has been a great help to me since. There are many times in our life when…

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What You See is What Will Be

There was a time back, long ago, when knowing each other’s deficits was important. In fact it was critical to our survival. But today we live in a time when our environment can literally make up for any of our shortcomings. We have evolved past the need to link deficiencies with survival. Unfortunately, our instincts have not. Despite overwhelming evidence—the blind man with incredible hearing, the deaf woman highly attuned to body language, the dyslexic student with powerful memorization—society is too accustomed to seeing the world in terms of deficits and exceptions. And so are we. In trying to improve,…

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My Gratitude List

Every morning I sit outside on my high-floor terrace in South Florida, sip my coffee, and read an uplifting pamphlet or two. Then I write out my day’s schedule. Too often, despite the uplifting material, I start worrying about this client or that deadline or the seemingly endless list of tasks on the schedule. And my quiet time erodes into anxiety. The activity that’s supposed to help me ease into the day with a positive outlook has the opposite effect. Instead of returning to my home office refreshed and ready to work, I’m drained and irritable. As I kept noticing…

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Is Worry Holding You Down?

My husband and I love the Baja Peninsula, visiting it frequently over the past few years. On September 14, 2014, Hurricane Odile hit. With no phone or internet service it was days or, in one case, a week before we heard from our friends who live there. Without communication, I became obsessed with any reports I could get from the area. I looked at photos of damage. I worried about the lack of food, water, and electricity. I concerned over my friends safety as desperation looting began. That week I was also hit with a massive cold. You see, worry…

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Can I Choose to Stay Positive?

"I have been having a difficult time lately with staying positive. It seems as if there is so much going on that it's difficult to try and stay positive. I used to be happier... How can I get through the day being positive?" ~ Julie Hi Julie, Thanks for your question, I get this one a lot and I want you to know that even “Mr. Positive” isn't able to “Stay Positive” all the time! Even though your life is very busy here are three things you can do in ten minutes or less to immediately to shift your attitude when you are not feeling…

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How Can I Stay Positive?

"I'm dealing with difficulty in my life right now that is affecting my health. I'm normally such a positive person. This situation is really taking its toll on me and I just don't know how to stay positive anymore. What can I do?" ~ Sally, Green Bay, Wisconsin Dear Sally, The best thing for staying positive is to remember that what we focus on expands, so here are a few great tips. Music is amazing for raising our vibration, our mood even when we don’t feel well or positive. Force a smile on your face, it will immediately change the physiology…

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How Can I Help My Struggling Friend?

"I have a friend struggling with grief, health and emotional issues. She is extremely negative, sarcastic and angry in all aspects of her life. She has no other friends and thanks me for being a positive example in her life. Very slowly, she is trying to change to more positive thoughts and actions. Problem is I am getting drained being her only friend in life. Her complaining is constant and she needs me so much of the time..I have a husband and other friends and I love to journal and read. I don't seem to have time for much anything…

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Does Negative News Affect Me?

"I am so upset with all the news and violence today. I wonder if watching it created more of it? If we all watch the news and the sadness, are we in fact creating it? Is that why so many young people are killing others? They are saddened and feel no one cares and see the news of others killing themselves, so they think they should? Is media creating more sadness and violence...? Again, should I turn off my TV and not watch it, or is that a coward's way out? I fear that all the people watching the tragedies…

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New Year’s Eve, Drop All That No Longer Serves Behind You

Before midnight on New Year's Eve, take some time to reflect upon on your past. This past year and as far as you can remember. Refrain from going into story about the past or reliving old memories,  just reflect. And everything that you don’t want to drag into 2014 with you, drop it. Drop it like the ball that falls in Times Square each year. Drop it like a hot potato and let it go once and for all. Leave the past in the past so that you can move into 2014 with clear unencumbered focus. Between Christmas and New Year's Eve…

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How Can I Let Go of Negative Thoughts?

"I am sad about my marriage of 40 years being over. I have tried so hard to save it but we are just on different vibrations. What do I do with my negative thoughts when they come up??" ~ Kathy Rose, Los Angeles, CA Firstly, Kathy, I would ask that you be loving and kind to yourself. Coming to this realization is not an easy one and I am sure it is not a decision you have taken lightly. Forgiveness of yourself and of your spouse is helpful. Knowing that you have tried and you are both taking the best…

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How to Go About Challenging Yourself

A challenge isn't easy, it isn't meant to be. That is why terms like 'get outside your comfort zone’ and ‘break out of the box we put ourselves in' are bandied about a lot. We know how good we feel when we reach a goal and the feeling of accomplishment that comes with it. Often the more difficult the challenge or even the more attempts we have made at it, the greater the sense of achievement during, and afterwards, especially when we have tried our best. Challenging yourself can be extremely motivational. Below are some tips to help you challenge…

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